I'm on an email list that posts new homemade tools daily. Usually homemade hand tools, belt sanders, drill presses, sheet metal benders, etc. But today this pic captioned "tractor cow rotator" came across with no explanation, and it appears to be a tractor mounted device for rotating a cow. Couldn't google up an explanation and couldn't think of any reason you would rotate a cow.

Anybody have a reason for this device's existence?

Don't know but the dude driving that tractor seems pretty pleased with himself.

Hoof trimmer my guess too

I had no idea that cows needed to have their hooves trimmed. Horses I knew about, but I had never heard that about cow hooves. Is this a regular thing that ranchers do or is it not all that common?

In my day we just knocked them down and put a knee on their necks so they couldn't stand up. If they were big, put em in the chute and use a nose clamp. New Army ruins everything.

Mostly show steers and heifers get their hoods trimmed.

jrbaggie said:

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Mostly show steers and heifers get their hoods trimmed.

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Dairy cows sometimes, my guess is confined cows might have hoof issues they need trimming

My guess is it might be used for surgery.
Or maybe it's something used for down cows.

It looks like it would be hard to get a healthy animal strapped into something like that. And keep them restrained.

cuz-i-can said:

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It looks like someone repurposed their home gym machine...

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Exactly what I thought. They could sell that gym equipment for a fortune right now!

Dirty Jobs did an episode on a hoof trimming crew. They did dairy cows.

It was fascinating.

That cow is ready for space travel

Maybe they were a few days late on hitting send on the April Fool's edition of the newsletter...?

Sorry I'm just now circling back, but you got your question answered above. Hoof trimming is a common practice with cattle for exhibition and apparently fairly common with dairy cattle, although I'm not certain why for the latter. My guess would be the amount of time they spend on concrete? Trimming is seldom if ever done on regular commercial cattle unless there's been an injury of something that requires it. I am not certain that the tool in the OP is for hoof trimming, that would have just been a guess, but for comparison here is a hoof trimming table marketed to dairymen...

I was pretty happy with my home made hat stretcher. This is something else! Me gusta.

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Took a closer look at the pic and think it's a photoshop. The cow's full weight is suspended on some small rope slings and the legs are held by the same small ropes. And if I'm the only one that actually thought it was legit then laugh away because I bit hard on this one. Mainly because it came off a reputable email subscription that I've never known to post pranks before. But... they got me.

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Posted the above in a F16 thread. The more I looked at it the more obvious it was a photoshop. A pretty good photoshop IMO, but still a fake.

A cattleman I am not...

How drugged did the cow have to be for it to let him strap that thing on? (serious answers only)

cmag said:

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How drugged did the cow have to be for it to let him strap that thing on? (serious answers only)

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Dead?

Is that how they shake the cows to get chocolate milk?

Picard said:

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That cow is ready for space travel

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Seriously, he won the trip to space camp on Double Dare.

Does it include balancing?

"Dammit Carl, I said ROTATE the cattle...."

In the fields. In the damn fields.